Cry baby of the Week: Amy Thomson

A peace activist was detained for 48 hours before being sent back to New Zealand for trying to enter Israel on a tourist visa.

Amy Thomson, 26, was held at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on February 26. She tried to enter the country for a three-month voluntary internship at a non-government organisation promoting peace.

Thomson said the Israel Palestinian Centre for Research and Information told her she should claim to be a tourist.

Suspicions were raised when Israeli immigration authorities saw she had recently visited Lebanon, which is in ongoing conflict with Israel.

The appropriate response: Apologise, always pays to be polite to immigration officials of any country, don’t get all shouty or start spouting on about rights, and get on the next plane out. There is no way Israeli’s are going to let an Arab sympathising protestor visit their country…It is their country after all, especially if you have written pro-Iranian essays and have your anti-Israel work indexed by Google.

The actual response: She whines to Bevan Hurley, who is the past master at manufacturing outrage. The Herald on Sunday writes a big piece about how you are upset and humiliated for not following Israel’s immigration laws.

One interrogator mockingly congratulated her for winning a $500 prize for an essay she had written on Iranian politics which appeared on the Massey University website.

“I felt humiliated and ashamed. Eventually it seemed to me that he had found something out and knew that I had lied about something.”

Exhausted, after a 24 hour flight and 12 hours questioning, Thomson admitted that she was to work for a non-governmental organisation.

She was transferred to a detention centre and held with other detainees for 36 hours.

Her belongings were confiscated except for an electronic book reader. She was allowed one phone call to the nearest embassy in Turkey.

She said she regretted not being honest but it was a valuable experience.

“I know what it’s like for the Palestinians to deal with what they deal with every single day.”

The centre said it advised interns to travel on tourist visas as they could not get volunteer visas from Israel.

Thomson said the organisation was very apologetic. They said their interns had never been detained.

Thomson was banned from Israel for 10 years.

As a special treat she’ll also have a nightmare at every border crossing now as she will be considered high risk because of this.

Bahahahahaha. Hang on its only fair to have something intelligent to say. So here goes.

Bahahahahaha nope can’t do it

Gazzaw

Next steps. Bleeding heart interview by John Campbell and a demand for an official protest by Phil Goff. It’s too late in the summer for Minto, his rent-a-mob and his loudhailer to disrupt the tennis – maybe next year.

Tom

Counter-protest with a paintball marker would be fun…

boristhefrog

Its always the same with this lot… ‘Because I am right, I demand special treatment..’ Yep… immigration officials in EVERY country, including NZ, are there to keep people that their Government don’t like out. ‘Rightness’ is never a consideration.

Now I’d like to see her enter the United States… good luck with that.

What a dipshit.

williamabong

Fucking good job, finally a nation with some balls, should be happening here then the Rentamob like Paul Watson and his ilk would be lleft out in the cold where they belong.

Never in the dark…..

“I know what it’s like for the Palestinians to deal with what they deal with every single day.”
As if!!

Only those who attract the attention of the authorities get sidelined. And then the treatment she received was very diplomatic in comparison.

Most Palestinians get on with their life in Israel without any interference.

Then again, when it comes to those affected Palestinians, there’s a simple solution really, renounce your groundless claims, put down your weapons and learn to love thy neighbour.

Anonymouse Coward

If the funny-police in Israel were on their game they would have realized that Amy’s essay examined the reason why protests in Iran failed to topple the government.

I would have thought it was in Israels interests for protests to topple the Iranian Government and send I am a Diner-jacket on his way.

Massey awarded a prize for the essay, so it must have had some intellectual rigour. The Israeli funny-police should have organized a seminar for her to explain her thesis and maybe they would have picked up a few ideas about destabilizing the Iranian theocracy. And then. Oh sorry you have the wrong visa. hop on the plane and piss-off.

However when you are engaged in a ceaseless tribal war it is hard to give credence to ideas that might originate from people who do not share your views.

Tom

Yeah I’m sure MOSSAD could use a few pointers from a daywalking 26 year old fruitloop that has never done anything outside a university..

Anonymouse Coward

Is this MOSSAD the organization that tried to obtain an illegal NZ passport and got caught?

She may be a clever fruitloop, after all she goes to university and they gave her a prize for her written-down thinking.

BigDes

Yep. And the same ones that went around knocking off Nazis. She’s not clever, she’s a ding dong uni student with no experience.

Gazzaw

Yup, the very same Mossad AC. The outfit that were responsible getting Adolf Eichmann strung up and assassinating those Nazis that they couldn’t ‘repatriate’ to Israel to face a court of law. Most Kiwis didn’t give a flying fuck about the illegal passport – only Goff and his coterie of pro-Palestinians.

Even Wussel Norman got a prize for writing stuff down at uni so it obviously doesnt count for too much unless you have a degree in something real.

Anonymouse Coward

Why do I have to apply for a Kiwi passport every five years instead of ten. Why was that change made?

Surely the ceaseless tribal war wouldn’t negatively affect ordinary jokers down here in the Antipodes?

Gazzaw

Sure, passport fraud prevention was one reason but try revenue gathering by the 2004 labour government and job protection by Internal Affairs staff as the other. To their shame the current administration will not revert to a 10 year validity which is quite acceptable to both Australia and the EU.

BJ

And its actually 41/2 yrs because many countries require you to have 6 months left on your current passport at the time you enter their country

Mr_Blobby

I think you might find it is 3-6 months after your scheduled departure.

Bunswalla

No BJ is correct – some countries require you to have at least 6 months left on your passport before you enter their country.

Mr_Blobby

Believe it is the US that is insisting on 5 year passports.

Don’t know why we can’t have the option of a 5 year acceptable to the US and a 10 year acceptable to the rest of the World. Better still seeing as my biometrics are not going to change, how about a lifetime passport.

As for Israel, how many of their people are in country as we speak getting the much prized Kiwi passport. I seriously doubt that getting caught a couple of times will stop them. Or have they come to an arrangement with the Government.

Liberty

There is a very good reason why Labour got there knickers in
a twist over Mossad.
Goff did have some dodgy friends

Did she write it sitting in Palmerston North with her anti Semitic glasses on, or did she go to Iran and interview people there? If so what did Iran customs do to her?

h4nd

Hasbara. Accuse anyone who disagrees with Israel about anything of anti-semitism. Apartheid on buses? Anti-semitic commenter. Different age of prosecution for jewish kids than arab kids, anti-semitic analysis. Stolen land? No no, you must be denying Israels right to exist. I wonder if you receive payments from the IDF astro turfing dept?

Mr_Blobby

Don’t care Israel and Palestine are two shit holes, and of little significance. They have taken up to much time and energy over thousands of years. Somebody need to tell them to harden up learn to share and get along together. Or else.

Apart from supporting there illegal antics here I can see no benefit for NZ, having an embassy here.

h4nd

Hard to get along with a rogue nuclear state who won’t let people visit you (‘not get a volunteer visas’), wont let you visit your uncle on the other side of the separation wall, bombs you every 2-4 years and calls it “mowing the grass”.

Hazards001

fucking wah wah wah…they should be honest and call it what it is…termination of terrorists.

Interviewing primary sources given the subject matter might have been a little difficult.

I hope she applies independence of thought and intellectual rigour to her output.

If she is simply a partisan in the ceaseless tribal war it must devalue her work.

Orange

Unfortunate photo, makes her look rather fat for a 26 year old.

Cadwallader

I so wish the NZ border authorities would treat Greenpeace idiots like this.

AnonWgtn

Silly little bitch – typical Green Party “member”.
She will find that wherever she goes internationally she will find delays in immigration – she does not realise that being a proven “liar” will set her back further than she could realise, as she will be on many immigration blacklists wordwide.
Wussel wll lie for her though.

Steve R

Actually. Imagine / dream that our immigration officials had been as good as the Israeli ones . THE DAY RUSSELL NORMAN SHOWED UP .

BJ

It does not pay to piss around with any immigration official outside NZ

Blue Tim

Do the crime do the time.

Anonymouse Coward

Amy has written a prize winning essay on the failure of protests to topple the Iranian regime and her thesis was on the links between Iran and Heezbolah.

The head of the Israeli funny-police should give the desk-jockey who decided to chuck Amy out a copy of the John le Carre novel “The Little Drummer Girl” to read.

Then he should ask the desk-jockey if the chucking out of Amy was an example the cunning and nimbleness the Israeli funny-police was formerly famous for

Hang him

She was mostly like on a mission for Hamas looking for targeting Info. So called peace missions are rarely that just the opposite.

Anonymouse Coward

Acting as a mobile rocket artillery spotter for Hamas if she is in their pocket, is a serious waste of intelligence resources by Hamas.

Look can everybody get this through their thick head. Her skills, if they are genuine, are an understanding of the balances between potential actors in Iran and the wider Middle East.

If you can tap into that understanding it will put you ahead in the game.

Bunswalla

Can you get this through your thick head? She lied on her visa application about the purpose of her visit. End. Of. Fucking. Story.

Anonymouse Coward

Yea but imagine you are a immigration official in a country engaged in a ceaseless tribal war.

When someone with ideas which may give your country an advantage in this ceaseless tribal war turns up, do you chuck them out because they had the wrong stamp on their passport?

h4nd

Also, the so called peace process is also the opposite. Palestinians were sold a crock by he west. Look at the injustice since the Olso accords (which were dishonoured by one side, almost immediately)

Gazzaw

You seem to know quite a lot about Palestine for a person visiting on business. What sort of conference were you attending in 2008?

h4nd

Started here: http://www.pic-palestine.ps/ then realised it was a political problem getting in the way of most Palestinians just wanting to do business, raise their kids, etc

Gazzaw

With all due respect the tone of the conference addresses and the list of delegates would appear to be a tad one sided in order for you to form a balanced opinion were you there as a bit of a showpiece from down under? Who paid for you to attend?

h4nd

I paid. Tax deductable. Business, like I said.

h4nd

I’ve been to Palestine. The guys you’re defending shot my friend in the face. He’s an avowed pacifist, educates kids and women in a refugee camp.

Tom

Details?

h4nd

I went in 2008 to a business conference. It’s a fucking disgrace. Most Palestinians cannot simply go about their lives, because of the heavily armed and paranoid military occupation.

BD

It is unfortunate that your friend’s life was taken but I am sure that he would have been aware of the dangers of associating himself with people that harbour terrorists.
And as for being paranoid, the Israeli army isn’t raising barbed wire fences and running around in armoured vehicles because of woman and children living in refugee camps. The are doing that because the husbands, fathers and brothers of some of those “refugees” are hell bent on taking the lives of as many Israeli men, women and children.
When will you people get your heads out of your arses and realise that the army is protecting civilians and retaliate with force when necessary.

h4nd

WTF are you talking about, ‘associating with terrorists’? He’s an educator. A palestinian. oh, and he survived.

Hazards001

Fuck you, it’s not a military occupation, it’s their country whether you and your pacifist mates like it or not. You know what I love about pacifists? The way they are always hiding behind the soldiers when the shooting starts!

Don’t really understand why this story is newsworthy? Young, inexperienced student lies to immigration authorities about being in their country, in an area of perpetual conflict. She gets deported and banned for ten years. And somehow this illustrates the
predicament of the Palestinians? This story isn’t even antisemetic just incredibly stupid.

Mr_V4

It shows that we need more money for medical research. There must be a contageous virus circulating in the wild in NZ, turning a number of people into stupid bints, – unfortunately this virus seems to be affecting younger and younger people, whereas once only the older generation like Jeanette Fitzsimons and Sue Kedgely were affected.

Anonymouse Coward

She should have worked on the Israeli funny-police paranoia.

“Now listen here youz jokers when the Qatari found out I had some ideas about what was going on in Iran they offered the fly me in first class on Ethiad and put me up at The Torch if I would tell them everything I knew. Your competing bid for this information has so far been to growl at me like a Commissar.”